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strife

Our nation is extremely divided along many lines: economically, politically, socially, in morals and loads more. And tomorrow’s Inauguration is a reflection of these divisions. I’ve been thinking and praying about this for quite some time, asking God for perspective, wisdom and compassion. In my prayers, I was reminded of the bloody transition in 2 Samuel from the house of Saul to David. This transition took many years and was not just a little tulmutuous. Then I also remembered reading Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. I was deeply moved by his words & would strongly encourage you to read this

Recently, the controversial pastor Mark Driscoll resigned from being the lead pastor for Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Yesterday, the church announced that it was disbanding and dissolving all of its satellite campuses, giving each location freedom to chart it’s own path for the future. Being a pastor’s kid and having lived in church for most of my life, this announcement saddens me for various reasons:

as humans, we often fall into the trap of following people more than we follow Jesus

oftentimes the people we think are leading us closer to Christ are made of the same flawed flesh in which we live and breath

we struggle with how to keep each other accountable without being judgmental, intolerant or divisive

we are susceptible to many internal deceptions that stroke our flesh and poison our passion for Jesus

somewhere it talks about striking the shepherd and scattering the sheep

So here’s my point: there are lots of hurt, confused and disillusioned people from all of this fallout with Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll, many of whom have followed Jesus because of Pastor Mark’s leadership and influence, as well as the communities that had formed around the satellite churches connected with Mars Hill. In 1Cor 12, Paul talks about the how the body of Christ functions together, diverse parts and pieces working together in complementary more than competitive ways, promoting Jesus in all ways and opportunities. In Galatians 6, Paul talks about how we should bear each other’s burdens, restoring, assisting and being part of Jesus’ redemptive work.

So as members of the body of Christ, let’s be devoted to pray for this situation and moreso for the people who may find themselves floundering from all of these changes. Let’s pray:

that the enemy does not make progress with this opportunity for strife, dissension and conflict

for the body of Christ that has been a part of the Mars Hill fellowship – let’s pray for their hearts

Since we’re in the middle of the Christmas season, my kids have organized, refined, amended & advertised their wish lists version 4.5. Here’s an interesting twist: what if Santa had a wish list? What would Santa’s wish list look like? Perhaps Santa would like a chia pet or a vegamatic chopper ,)

More likely, Santa probably wants his reindeer & elves to work together without strife & division. If you think about it, both the reindeer & elves have some hefty responsibilities & the last thing Santa would want to deal with would be conflict among the elves or dissension with the reindeer. Perhaps our Heavenly Father has the same thing on His wish list this Christmas – maybe our Heavenly Father would be super pleased if the strife & conflict with His children was reduced or even eliminated. Let’s you & me make this goal (harmony with each other) one of our priorities so God can check this one off of His wish list – peace on earth & good will among men 🙂

I had an interesting experience a few days ago with a very unhappy person. This person was extremely upset about a difficulty & she was upset beyond what the circumstances called for. I began to think about the possible reasons why she could be over reacting:

maybe she was having a rough day,

maybe there are other pressures in her life where she vents her frustrations in unrelated situations,

maybe she has some medical challenges that cause her to be easily upset

worst of all, maybe she is an angry person

There’s a difference between being angry about something & being an angry person. One is based on situations but the other is an identity. The person who finds their identity in anger brings dissension into his conversations & relationships based on Prov 29:22 & 15:18. An angry person tends to lack control over their behaviors & conversations. And an angry person, based on what Proverbs says, is a fool (29:11).

In contrast, a person who is slow to anger tends to have a better life – they have great understanding (14:29, 17:27), they’re not easily offended (they overlook offenses – 19:11), they have more self-control than an angry person and a person who is slow to anger is better than the mighty (16:32).

Let’s be angry for the right reasons (against injustices, wickedness & evil), but let’s not be angry people 🙂